Our present invention relates to an identification method, especially for airport security and the like which can be used for passenger identification, baggage/passenger matching, neonate identification, weapons identification, visa and passport applications, events security at sports events, conventions, amusement parks and theme parks, access control in a variety of facilities and for driver licenses, vehicle registration and the like and even for rapid ticketing, especially for airports and the like.
More particularly, the invention relates to an identification method utilizing facial image features and capable of registering a facial image with a minimum of data in or on any card, document, object or thing for association thereof with an individual and enabling an accurate data base storage for a stored image of that individual for comparison of registered images for a variety of purposes.
Various identification projects have been proposed heretofore for baggage management and like purposes and, for example, it is common practice to require matching of stubs carried by passengers with baggage tags at airports and other transportation facilities, to require individuals to identify themselves with photo I.D.s at airport check-in facilities and to require individuals to provide identifying fingerprints, hand prints and the like for access to facilities.
While all of these techniques have been used successfully, there remains a need for greater security at airports and other transportation facilities, at sensitive buildings and wherever association of an individual with an object, article, background or document is required.
The aviation industry has been facing increasing pressure from governmental regulatory authorities and the U.S. political leadership to bring their outdated airport security systems into the 21st century, especially after the terrorist bombing of Pan Am 103 and the crash of TWA Flight 800. The 1997 White House Commission Report on Aviation Safety and Security, chaired by Vice-President Al Gore, emphasized the need for the FAA to establish new security standards as defined by Federal Aviation Agency Regulations. The Commission proclaimed that an issue of high priority should be the development of an automated system to provide Positive Passenger Baggage Matching (PPBM) incorporating automated passenger baggage matching technology and automated passenger profiling that eliminates the possibility that any passenger can check baggage onto a flight that they themselves do not take.
In addition, in other fields there is a need for positive identification of an individual with an object or other individuals which can utilize more or less remote identifications, i.e. the detection of identifying data at a location spaced from the object on which that data is stored. For example, it is often important to ensure that a child or an infant is associated with the individual accompanying him or her upon leaving a hospital, school, theme park or the like so as to be certain that the child is not being abducted and for that purpose positive identification of the accompanying adult with the child may be essential.
Furthermore, with respect to the ownership and possession of hand guns and long guns, it may be important to be certain of the owner or the identity of the individual found in possession of the weapon and to provide an immediate identification which can be cross-checked with central facilities.
It is always important for immigration and transportation facilities to be able to verify the individual carrying a passport, identity card, visa or the like and even a travel document, driver""s license or like card or paper. Furthermore, positive identification of individuals can include the matching of individuals to their possessions or baggage, the matching of individuals to tickets or the like sold to such individuals, the ability to control access to all kinds of facilities to authorized individuals, and the ability to police airports and the like to be certain that access has not been afforded to individuals who are suspected of criminal or terrorist activities. Finally, it is desirable to provide rapid identification of a possession analogous to that which obtains with the use of a photo I.D., to improve the efficiency of checking at transportation facilities and the like.
It is, therefore, the principal object of the present invention to provide an improved identification method which will overcome the disadvantages of the earlier approaches and facilitate rapid and accurate identification of individuals, objects with individuals, individuals with documents and documents or objects with one another.
Another object of the invention is to provide an improved airport security system which will provide assurance that only baggage associated with an actual passenger is placed aboard an aircraft which can provide positive identification of a passenger to prevent substitution or fraud or criminal or terrorist activity, to ensure positive baggage identification upon termination of a flight and to ensure security within the airport at all stages from entry into the facility through check-in, boarding and baggage retrieval.
It is also an object of this invention to provide an improved method of document and object identification whereby drawbacks with earlier document and object identification can be avoided.
These objects are attained, in accordance with the invention in an identification method which, in its broadest terms, comprises the steps of:
(a) at a first location, acquiring an image of a face of an individual, scanning a characteristic portion of the acquired image, and generating digital data representing a compressed image of the face of the individual;
(b) storing the image in a database;
(c) recording the digital data representing the compressed image on a first readable medium moving independently of the individual;
(d) at another location, reading the digital data recorded on the first readable medium, and selectively:
(d1) comparing the read digital data with images stored in the database, and displaying a stored image matching the read data to verify a relationship between the individual and the first readable medium at the other location, and
(d2) comparing the read digital data with digital data representing another stored image on a second readable medium corresponding to the first readable medium but capable of moving independently of the first readable medium.
In particular, the method of the invention can comprise the steps of:
(a) at a first location, acquiring an image of a face of an individual, scanning a characteristic portion of the acquired image, and generating digital data representing a compressed image of the face of the individual;
(b) storing the image in a database;
(c) recording the digital data representing the compressed image on a single-use disposable chip carried by the individual; and
(d) at another location, reading the digital data recorded on the chip, comparing the read digital data with images stored in the database, and displaying a stored image matching the read data to verify a relationship between the individual and chip at the other location.
Alternatively, the method can comprise the steps of:
(a) at a first location, acquiring an image of a face of an individual, scanning a characteristic portion of the acquired image, and generating digital data representing a compressed image of the face of the individual;
(b) storing the image in a database;
(c) recording the digital data representing the compressed image on a first single-use disposable chip carried by the individual and on a second single-use chip on an object moving independently from the individual; and
(d) at another location, reading the digital data recorded on the first and second chips, comparing the read digital data and authenticating a relationship between the individual and the object.
The invention has also been found to be particularly advantageous since it allows not only security at an airport or other facility in which limited accessibility is important, but because it can also significantly increase productivity at such facilities and wherever identification of a passenger and dispensing or sale of a ticket is required.
In this sense, by combining an automatic ticket dispenser with automated biometric facial passenger identifications and microchip labeling of the passenger (via the boarding pass) and the ticket, the usual passenger photo identification procedure may be eliminated or shortened.
Passengers are able to immediately secure their boarding passes and baggage tags from the dispenser along with the ticket, without having to wait on check-in lines. The passenger can then affix the tag to the baggage and place the baggage on a nearby conveyor system for automated routing to the aircraft. The passenger can then proceed directly to the departure gate. If the passenger""s luggage is placed at a secure location prior to dispensing of the boarding pass, the baggage tag bearing the microchip of the invention can be readily applied directly to the baggage. Indeed, wherever there is a suspicion that baggage tags may be inappropriately used, a chip bearing the biometric passenger identification may be provided directly to the baggage, unseen by the passenger, in addition to the baggage tag. Any mismatch of the chip on the baggage tag and the chip on the baggage can be readily ascertained on scanning.
In the enhanced productivity aspect of the invention, and for airport security generally, the passenger""s facial biometrics as stored on a microchip contained on their frequent flier card, drivers license, passport, credit card, or other identification is compared with the image captured by the video camera contained within the ticket-dispenser and with a data base maintained at the airport site or some central location, including possibly a data base maintained by police or other governmental authorities, ensuring fail-safe passenger identification. This immediate biometric check-in coupled with automated anti-terrorist passenger screening and the microchips embedded in both the baggage tags and boarding passes eliminates the need for the passenger to be screened by a check-in clerk. The system is, of course, fully compatible with bar code identification systems and all of the components provided with the microchip can also be bar-coded if desirable and the ticket dispenser can be provided with any requisite bar code reader or printer.
This aspect of the invention provides a dramatic productivity improvement for an airline in the form of reduced manpower requirements at check-in, elimination of long check-in lines and reduced departure hall space for manned check-in facilities.
According to a feature of the invention, the digital data is reported by burning the digital data into a single-use chip which is incorporated into the baggage tag, boarding pass, identifying card or sheet or the like or which can be applied to an article without a carrying sheet at a concealed location. Advantageously, the digital data capacity of the chip is 1024 bits, with a compressed facial image utilizing, say, up to 800 bits, the balance of the digital data on the chip representing other identification information with respect to the individual such as a social security number, name, etc. The chip itself is disposable and cannot be rewritten so that forgery and fraud can be avoided.
Surprisingly, with available compression software, the acquired image, although represented by a relatively small number of bits, can be computer-matched to full images stored in a data base with a high degree of precision which practically guarantees that, in spite of the storage of hundreds of thousands or millions of faces in the data base, the computer will be able to accurately identify the owner of a compressed image acquired as described. The important aspect of the invention is that the characteristic portion of the face which is scanned to provide the image is a facial triangle comprising the eyes and nose of the individual.
While the invention is primarily intended for airport check-in and facility control and baggage/passenger matching with great precision, the invention has numerous other applications which are of equal importance.
For example, the chip can be provided on a bracelet carried by a neonate and applied at birth or to a child and can carry the facial biometrics of the mother. In the case where the mother leaves the facility, the chip can be read and matched with her actual appearance and hence the association of the child with the parent can be verified.
According to another aspect of the invention, where the scanning of the face of an individual requires the camera to pick up, for example, faces of a number of individuals in a group or crowd, the invention can additionally comprise the step of manually controlling the acquisition of the image to distinguish between the number of faces in the field of the image pick-up.
When the system is used for weapons identification, the chip can be applied or embedded in a portion of the weapon and the biometrics of the face of the purchaser can be applied thereto. Since the chip cannot be rewritten, if it is destroyed or not present or has been replaced by a chip which cannot be verified as an original chip formed at the point of sale, the possession of the weapon by the individual can be considered improper. Where the chip can be read and is the original chip, of course, it will identify the original purchaser.
The airport security system operates basically as follows:
An air traveler is enrolled in the security system at initial check-in (i.e. counter or curbside) when the passenger presents a ticket and identifies himself or herself as a passenger. The check-in enrollment point, equipped with a network workstation, uses live video frame capture and advanced facial recognition software to track, locate and extract the passenger facial image to a cropped digital photo. In cases where multiple faces are within the camera""s visual field, the touch screen flat panel monitor will be utilized by the check-in personnel to manually locate the eyes of the desired enrollee and automated enrollment will then follow. A duplicate copy of the digital photo as well as passenger profiling and the flight schedule generated at the workstation is sent to the network server database for storage and translation. Positive identification of the passenger""s face is based upon the unique facial geometry from the stored photo image. Advanced facial recognition algorithms convert the unique facial geometry from the stored photo image into a biometric code or xe2x80x9cface printxe2x80x9d. The algorithms containing the biometric code drawing on the uniqueness of the individual it was taken from are, by nature of their complexity, a natural encryption.
The encrypted biometric object becomes a sortable field in the server database where indexed sorts make quick work of rapid search and matching during successive passenger lookups. Passenger enrollment continues at the check workstation where the digital photo is converted to a compressed digital image file using the latest in image compression technology. The compressed image data file is destructively written (OTP) to the smart card (passive RF transponder) chip memory along with passenger information and the flight schedule. The encoded smart card carrying unique passenger information is permanently affixed to the passenger""s boarding pass as well as identical smart card tags attached to each baggage item checked. The passenger enrollment process is finalized when a digital photo is sent to one or more databases controlled by the FBI, INTERPOL, or other law enforcement organizations. Once law enforcement organizations acquire the photo file from the server, they can use facial recognition software to rapidly compare for a positive match with photos of known terrorists. If there is a positive match, airport security can detain the suspect before he enters the security area or boards the aircraft.
After check-in, the baggage is sorted with RF smart card readers via the existing conveyor system that has been retrofitted with smart card readers to scan the luggage tags before loading onto the aircraft. The digital photos stored on the baggage tags are transmitted to the network server. The passenger proceeds to the carry-on security station where his digital facial image is again captured and compared with the images of passengers stored on the network server database in order to confirm that the individual entering the secure area is a registered passenger. The passenger then proceeds onward to the boarding gate. The passenger data now stored on the network server is accessible by the computer terminal at the boarding gate. The seamless noninvasive process is completed when the passenger will arrive at the gate with the boarding pass, whereupon the affixed smart card coming into proximity of the excitors/readers will be scanned (memory contents read). The compressed photo images previously extracted and stored from the baggage tag smart card memory and the real-time photo image extracted from the boarding pass smart card memory are decompressed and displayed on the network gate workstation. The photo image data read are passed back to the server for the internal rendering or biometric code of the stored facial image and compared. A split-screen Graphical User Interface (GUI) displays the facial images captured. The system software will automatically notify security personnel if the two images being validated at the boarding gate via the facial recognition software do not agree. To further enhance the security environment, a video image of the passenger can be captured at the boarding gate and compared with the existing images already stored on the server, boarding pass and baggage tags. This final comparison serves as a fail-safe means of assuring that the individual boarding the plane is the same person who originally presented and identified himself or herself at the check-in counter. In the event that the passenger will change planes at another airport, the same gate access and positive passenger baggage matching procedures will be employed.
Upon arrival at the final airport destination, the passenger baggage can be recovered using a match of the passenger images stored in the baggage tag and boarding pass smart cards as the identifiers.
The internal rendering or xe2x80x9cfacial finger printxe2x80x9d is arrived at by processing a facial image with a complex biometric algorithm built on variation from a basic human facial model using the facial triangle comprising the eyes and nose as key identifiers. Facial geometry, when refined to very small components, paints an absolutely unique mathematical key for an individual face. The mathematical key becomes a very useful tool when placed in a sortable database for the repeat identification of an individual. Acceptance or rejection of passengers passing through the increasingly tightening security parameter surrounding departing aircraft can be decided in real time. The high confidence interval with which the latest facial recognition software repeats the facial mapping/rendering under extreme angular and luminescent conditions gives us the confidence to screen passengers for a variety of security issues. Recognition accuracy exceeds FAR: less than 1%FRR: less than 1%.